“To prepare people to make good decisions in tough circumstances is what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Mr. Edward Disabato, Bellwood-Antis’s superintendent not long after the district completed a successful active shooter training for teachers at an in-service last month.
On March 21st, BASD security officers conducted an active shooter drill for all three buildings in Bellwood-Antis School District. They used real guns to create the illusion of an actual active shooter situation, only shooting blanks. This drill was conducted to practice procedures in place in case of a real armed threat, to practice run, hide, fight responses.
“The safety and security of our students and staff is an absolute priority,” said Mr. Disabato
Officer Jeff Hannah walked through the hallways of each building firing blank rounds from a pistol and a long rifle. Greeters from the opposite school monitored Hannah remotely from school cameras to relay his position to school staff over the public address system.
Teachers and staff were given the opportunity to either run, hide, or fight: to flee the building, hide somewhere, or confront the shooter.
School security conducted five separate drills in each building. They met with staff prior to the drill and after to discuss scenarios and best practices. Local and state police also participated.
“We’re always trying to make these types of situations more realistic. The more realistic it is, the more it will replicate if something really bad happens, and we will be prepared to deal with it,” said Mr. Tim Mercer, who heads up B-A’s security team.
Teachers recognized the benefit in the drills and spent part of the day talking with security officials about best practices and special situations. Each school ended the day practicing special scenarios in rooms and areas that are difficult to defend, like LGI rooms and cafeterias.
”One of the benefits of this is it puts you in a similar situation than what we might face in a school. So, the more time or the more often you can train, the better chances you have of being able to respond during an actual emergency,” said history teacher Mr. Matthew McNaul.
Tim Strohmeyer, a retired state police officer from Tyrone, spoke to teachers during a presentation in the auditorium to start the day. His message was to practice to take action so you don’t freeze up during on emergency.
Strohmeyer was named the Police Officer of the Year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 2013 after fatally shooting an active shooter in 2012 to end a shooting rampage that had killed four people, including another officer.
